Prospect seizes the day vs. Deerfield
Knights’ Morrison, Mocarski lead 4-2 win over Warriors
By Gary Larsen
DEERFIELD — Outside defenders are typically the stage hands of a soccer team, working hard behind the curtain while others get all the applause. On Monday, Prospect senior Bryan Morrison tore the curtain down and shoved his way into the spotlight.
Morrison played outside defender for the past two seasons at Prospect, but coach Michael Andrews started him at outside mid in the Knights’ season opener at Deerfield.
Morrison scored a goal eight minutes into the game. Then in the second half, Andrews moved him up to play forward.
“I probably haven’t played up there since middle school,” Morrison said.
All Morrison did next was produce an assist and score his second goal of the game to lead the Knights to a 4-2 win.
“He’s a senior captain in his third year of varsity experience,” Andrews said. “Just looking at his skillset and the type of player we need at midfield or in the striker position, he’s going to be a physical presence. He can really complicate things for defenders, and I feel like he’s one of those guys I can put in any position.”
And while Morrison’s quickness and relentless style were on display, it was the grit shown by the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match that most typified how the Knights pulled off the road win.
“There’s only so much you can control, but you can always control the grit and the intensity and the mentality,” Andrews said. “To start the season with a win on the road against a solid Deerfield team is a good start.”
The tone was set early in the annual crossover competition between Mid-Suburban League and Central Suburban League teams. Just one minute into play, Deerfield’s Nick Prus blistered a shot from 25 yards that Prospect keeper Szymon Mocarski tipped over the crossbar.
It was the earliest of wakeup calls for Mocarski to start the year.
“I was nervous, but that definitely gave me the adrenaline to get going and keep playing,” he said.
Morrison gave Prospect a 1-0 lead at eight minutes when Aedon Wesselink flicked a throw-in over on the left side, and Morrison sent it left-footed inside the far post.
But for the first 20 minutes and then much of the play after that to halftime, Deerfield (0-1-0) had Prospect (1-0-0) on its heels. Coach Elliott Hurtig is preaching a ball-control, play-to-feet approach this year, and the Warriors’ possession game looked ahead of the curve for a season opener.
“I think we had a lot of good plays going forward,” junior midfielder and co-captain Prus said. “In years past we played a lot of straight long balls up-front, but this year we’re connecting through the midfield, and getting the ball wide and getting it in. I thought that was really effective for us in this game.”
Whatever Deerfield threw at Mocarski, the senior keeper was more than up to the challenge in the first half. Mocarski charged out beyond the 18 to chest a ball down and toe-poke it away with a Warrior running on at seven minutes. Three minutes later he tipped a 30-yard shot from Deerfield's Ko Vendeneijkhoff over the bar.
Deerfield’s Nicolas Compisi volleyed a shot over at 19 minutes, and Mocarski again ventured well beyond the 18 to head a ball away with Compisi bearing down on him at 22 minutes.
When Mocarski charges off his line into a crowded box at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he can seem like a gorilla running amok through a day-care center.
“He’s physically very powerful and assertive. We’re lucky to have him back there, because he definitely kept us in the game early on,” Andrews said.
Prospect outside defender Ari Kemperas cleared a ball off the line at the post at 24 minutes, and Compisi turned the corner on the left side and sent a crisp, low serve across the goal mouth that Mocarski re-directed away from net.
Deerfield tied the game 1-1 at 36 minutes after Mocarski stopped a Logan Wallis shot. But the ball squirted free to the post where the Warriors’ Sam Strimling buried it.
“One of our keys to the game was finding feet and we did that,” Hurtig said. “I was really pleased with that, and we found some nice chances in the first half. (Mocarski) made some nice saves on some of our early shots and that kept them in the game.”
Mocarski aims to gel with a young backline featuring Kemperas, Jonathan Keane, Gavin Kafkakis, Colin Sand and Rick Lytle.
“We have a lot of zero-varsity experience players. We have three in the back,” Mocarski said. “But I’m pretty confident in our defense this year. I definitely liked what I saw today.”
Compisi, Prus and company were at it again to start the second half, but Mocarski and his boys in back kept them out of the goal.
After the Prospect defensive stand, Morrison found Wesselink near the post on the right side and Wesselink buried a shot from point-blank range for a 2-1 Prospect lead in the 50th minute.
The duo flipped starting positions to start the second half and teamed up well together.
“I planned on playing right mid all season,” Morrison said. "But from what (Andrews) saw I fit better up-top, and Aedon (Wesselink) fit better on the wing today."
However Deerfield wasn't finished. The Warriors’ Peter Straus made a run into the top of the box at 59 minutes and was tripped by a defender, setting up a Compisi penalty kick that tied the game.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, Prospect scored again less then one minute later when Esteban Lopez buried a shot from 16 yards. Prospect had the better chances from there to the final buzzer and the Knights added a Morrison goal at 79 minutes on a feed from Wesselink.
Deerfield left the field with a 4-2 loss and some lessons learned.
“I feel like the scoreboard didn’t reflect how we played tonight,” Deerfield senior co-captain and defender Jack Hammontree said. “We just fell asleep on a couple dead plays, and we could have stopped the first and the second goals. We’ll have to work on that in practice and get better at it.
“We played good in the back other than the two or three miscommunications. We were good with the ball; we won our head balls, and we won our tackles.”
Hurtig agreed.
“I thought honestly we gave them five good chances to score, and they scored on four of them,” Hurtig said. “I thought Prospect did a nice job finishing their chances so you have to give credit to them.
"But those are goals that are disappointing, because they come because of lack of communication, lack of vision and mistakes. It’s a tough first loss, because we played so well. But we’ll clean it up, and we get to play tomorrow (at 4:30 p.m. against Zion-Benton in the opening round of the North Shore Shootout at Lake Forest.)”
Hurtig applauded the play of Prus, Hammontree and center back David Jotkus in the loss. On the other bench, Andrews liked the way his backline found its footing as the game wore on.
“Obviously there’s a lot of work to do, but I’m pretty pleased -- especially with the second half and how we kept composure at the end of the game,” Andrews said.
Starting lineups
Prospect
GK Szymon Mocarski
D Ari Kemperas
D Gavin Kafkakis
D Jonathan Keane
D Colin Sand
M Declan Flanagan
M Bryan Morrison
M Alejandro Martinez
M Krystian Potapa
M Eryk Limanowka
F Aedon Wesselink
Deerfield
GK Joshua Berman
D Jack Hammontree
D David Jotkus
D Benjamin Taxman
D Albert Covaci
M Logan Wallis
M Nick Prus
M Mathew Covaci
M Ari Wainer
M Ko Vandeneijkhoff
F Nicolas Compisi
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Bryan Morrison, sr., MF, Prospect
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect — Morrison (Wesselink) 8th minute
Deerfield — Strimllng (Wallis) 36th minute
Second half
Prospect — Wesselink (Morrison) 50th minute
Deerfield — Compisi (PK) 59th minute
Prospect — Lopez 60th minute
Prospect — Morrison (Wesselink) 79th minute
Knights’ Morrison, Mocarski lead 4-2 win over Warriors
By Gary Larsen
DEERFIELD — Outside defenders are typically the stage hands of a soccer team, working hard behind the curtain while others get all the applause. On Monday, Prospect senior Bryan Morrison tore the curtain down and shoved his way into the spotlight.
Morrison played outside defender for the past two seasons at Prospect, but coach Michael Andrews started him at outside mid in the Knights’ season opener at Deerfield.
Morrison scored a goal eight minutes into the game. Then in the second half, Andrews moved him up to play forward.
“I probably haven’t played up there since middle school,” Morrison said.
All Morrison did next was produce an assist and score his second goal of the game to lead the Knights to a 4-2 win.
“He’s a senior captain in his third year of varsity experience,” Andrews said. “Just looking at his skillset and the type of player we need at midfield or in the striker position, he’s going to be a physical presence. He can really complicate things for defenders, and I feel like he’s one of those guys I can put in any position.”
And while Morrison’s quickness and relentless style were on display, it was the grit shown by the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match that most typified how the Knights pulled off the road win.
“There’s only so much you can control, but you can always control the grit and the intensity and the mentality,” Andrews said. “To start the season with a win on the road against a solid Deerfield team is a good start.”
The tone was set early in the annual crossover competition between Mid-Suburban League and Central Suburban League teams. Just one minute into play, Deerfield’s Nick Prus blistered a shot from 25 yards that Prospect keeper Szymon Mocarski tipped over the crossbar.
It was the earliest of wakeup calls for Mocarski to start the year.
“I was nervous, but that definitely gave me the adrenaline to get going and keep playing,” he said.
Morrison gave Prospect a 1-0 lead at eight minutes when Aedon Wesselink flicked a throw-in over on the left side, and Morrison sent it left-footed inside the far post.
But for the first 20 minutes and then much of the play after that to halftime, Deerfield (0-1-0) had Prospect (1-0-0) on its heels. Coach Elliott Hurtig is preaching a ball-control, play-to-feet approach this year, and the Warriors’ possession game looked ahead of the curve for a season opener.
“I think we had a lot of good plays going forward,” junior midfielder and co-captain Prus said. “In years past we played a lot of straight long balls up-front, but this year we’re connecting through the midfield, and getting the ball wide and getting it in. I thought that was really effective for us in this game.”
Whatever Deerfield threw at Mocarski, the senior keeper was more than up to the challenge in the first half. Mocarski charged out beyond the 18 to chest a ball down and toe-poke it away with a Warrior running on at seven minutes. Three minutes later he tipped a 30-yard shot from Deerfield's Ko Vendeneijkhoff over the bar.
Deerfield’s Nicolas Compisi volleyed a shot over at 19 minutes, and Mocarski again ventured well beyond the 18 to head a ball away with Compisi bearing down on him at 22 minutes.
When Mocarski charges off his line into a crowded box at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he can seem like a gorilla running amok through a day-care center.
“He’s physically very powerful and assertive. We’re lucky to have him back there, because he definitely kept us in the game early on,” Andrews said.
Prospect outside defender Ari Kemperas cleared a ball off the line at the post at 24 minutes, and Compisi turned the corner on the left side and sent a crisp, low serve across the goal mouth that Mocarski re-directed away from net.
Deerfield tied the game 1-1 at 36 minutes after Mocarski stopped a Logan Wallis shot. But the ball squirted free to the post where the Warriors’ Sam Strimling buried it.
“One of our keys to the game was finding feet and we did that,” Hurtig said. “I was really pleased with that, and we found some nice chances in the first half. (Mocarski) made some nice saves on some of our early shots and that kept them in the game.”
Mocarski aims to gel with a young backline featuring Kemperas, Jonathan Keane, Gavin Kafkakis, Colin Sand and Rick Lytle.
“We have a lot of zero-varsity experience players. We have three in the back,” Mocarski said. “But I’m pretty confident in our defense this year. I definitely liked what I saw today.”
Compisi, Prus and company were at it again to start the second half, but Mocarski and his boys in back kept them out of the goal.
After the Prospect defensive stand, Morrison found Wesselink near the post on the right side and Wesselink buried a shot from point-blank range for a 2-1 Prospect lead in the 50th minute.
The duo flipped starting positions to start the second half and teamed up well together.
“I planned on playing right mid all season,” Morrison said. "But from what (Andrews) saw I fit better up-top, and Aedon (Wesselink) fit better on the wing today."
However Deerfield wasn't finished. The Warriors’ Peter Straus made a run into the top of the box at 59 minutes and was tripped by a defender, setting up a Compisi penalty kick that tied the game.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, Prospect scored again less then one minute later when Esteban Lopez buried a shot from 16 yards. Prospect had the better chances from there to the final buzzer and the Knights added a Morrison goal at 79 minutes on a feed from Wesselink.
Deerfield left the field with a 4-2 loss and some lessons learned.
“I feel like the scoreboard didn’t reflect how we played tonight,” Deerfield senior co-captain and defender Jack Hammontree said. “We just fell asleep on a couple dead plays, and we could have stopped the first and the second goals. We’ll have to work on that in practice and get better at it.
“We played good in the back other than the two or three miscommunications. We were good with the ball; we won our head balls, and we won our tackles.”
Hurtig agreed.
“I thought honestly we gave them five good chances to score, and they scored on four of them,” Hurtig said. “I thought Prospect did a nice job finishing their chances so you have to give credit to them.
"But those are goals that are disappointing, because they come because of lack of communication, lack of vision and mistakes. It’s a tough first loss, because we played so well. But we’ll clean it up, and we get to play tomorrow (at 4:30 p.m. against Zion-Benton in the opening round of the North Shore Shootout at Lake Forest.)”
Hurtig applauded the play of Prus, Hammontree and center back David Jotkus in the loss. On the other bench, Andrews liked the way his backline found its footing as the game wore on.
“Obviously there’s a lot of work to do, but I’m pretty pleased -- especially with the second half and how we kept composure at the end of the game,” Andrews said.
Starting lineups
Prospect
GK Szymon Mocarski
D Ari Kemperas
D Gavin Kafkakis
D Jonathan Keane
D Colin Sand
M Declan Flanagan
M Bryan Morrison
M Alejandro Martinez
M Krystian Potapa
M Eryk Limanowka
F Aedon Wesselink
Deerfield
GK Joshua Berman
D Jack Hammontree
D David Jotkus
D Benjamin Taxman
D Albert Covaci
M Logan Wallis
M Nick Prus
M Mathew Covaci
M Ari Wainer
M Ko Vandeneijkhoff
F Nicolas Compisi
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Bryan Morrison, sr., MF, Prospect
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect — Morrison (Wesselink) 8th minute
Deerfield — Strimllng (Wallis) 36th minute
Second half
Prospect — Wesselink (Morrison) 50th minute
Deerfield — Compisi (PK) 59th minute
Prospect — Lopez 60th minute
Prospect — Morrison (Wesselink) 79th minute